Portland ‘Jedi’ fends off police Taser with lightsaber

Portland Police got a dose of the Force on Wednesday when they responded to a report of a man assaulting people with a “Star Wars” lightsaber toy inside a Toys R Us. The man had been swinging the plastic sword Jedi weapon at at least three customers, according to a police report.

When the cops arrived, the wannabe padawan had moved his space battle to the parking lot. Officers tried to subdue the man with earthly reason, but the Force was strong in this one.

From the police report:

Officers arrived and attempted to take the suspect into custody but he continued to swing the light saber and was yelling incoherent statements. One officer attempted to use a Taser but it was ineffective. A second officer used a Taser which made good contact but the suspect used the light saber to break one of the wires. Officers then were able to grab onto the suspect and take him to the ground and place him into custody as he continued to violently struggle and yell incoherent statements.

The suspect was treated by medical personnel at the scene has been transported to an area hospital for a mental evaluation. None of the victims of the light saber assault required medical attention at the scene.

The suspect, David Canterbury, was cited for assault, disorderly conduct, theft, resisting arrest and interfering with police, according to the Seattle Weekly. Records show Canterbury has several drug-related arrests in his past – before the dark times, before the Empire.

But at 33 years old, he might be too old … yes, too old to begin Jedi training.